1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vault for storing coins and/or tokens and, more particularly, to such a vault which is insertable into a coin and/or token collecting apparatus and which includes a memory device for storing information relating to the vault and for automatically supplying such information to the collecting apparatus after insertion of the vault therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, each coin and/or token collecting apparatus, such as an automatic toll booth or station used along highways, or at tunnels, bridges, parking lots and the like, utilizes a vault or storage device to store received coins and/or tokens. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, a toll booth 10, which is typically located adjacent a roadway and mounted on top of a raised portion or island 14, generally includes a basket or coin hopper 16, a removable vault 18 and a vault housing 20. The basket 16 is adapted to receive coins and/or tokens from motorists and to supply them to the vault housing 20 which, in turn, causes a determination to be made as to whether the correct amount has been received and thereafter causes information relating thereto to be produced. Such determination and production of information may be performed by a processing device (not shown) which may be located within the vault housing 20. The removable vault 18 is adapted to be inserted into the vault housing 20 and, upon such insertion, is further adapted to receive the coins and/or tokens therefrom. Upon removing the vault 18 from the housing 20, the coins and/or tokens are securely held inside, as hereinafter more fully described. The housing 20 may include a coin and/or token sensing and/or testing apparatus as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,845,994 and 5,097,934, which have a common assignee with the present application and which are hereby incorporated by reference.
A rear view of a vault 18 in accordance with the prior art is shown in FIG. 2. Vault 18 includes a lid 28 located on a top portion of the vault having a rotatable openable/closeable portion 38, a connector 24 located in a recess portion 25 of a back surface 36, a plurality of guide holes 22 located on the back surface, a handle 39 located on the back surface and a handle (not shown) located on a front surface 46 for facilitating the handling of the vault, and guide rails 40 located on sides 42 and 44.
As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 20 includes an opening 120 large enough to accommodate the vault 18, guide rails 140 located on sides 142 and 144 which are adapted to be in contact with guide rails 40 of the vault 18 (FIG. 2) during insertion or removal of the vault, and guide pins 122 and a mating connector 124 having contacts 126 located on a back surface 146 inside the opening 120.
During insertion of the vault 18 into the housing 20, the respective ones of the guide rails 40 and 140 are in slidable contact with each other so as to facilitate the insertion of the vault. When such insertion is nearly complete, the guide holes 22 on the back surface 36 of the vault 18 (FIG. 2) receive guide pins 122 (FIG. 3) so as to ensure proper alignment of the connector 24 (FIG. 2) with its corresponding mating connector 124 on the housing 20 (FIG. 3). Further, during such insertion of the vault 18, a pin 48 or similar type device, located on the portion 38 engages a mating member (not shown) located on the housing 20 so as to cause the portion 38 to be pivoted opened, thereby producing an opening (not shown) in the lid 28 of the vault. This opening aligns with a corresponding opening (not shown) in the housing 20 which enables coins and/or tokens to be supplied from the housing into the vault 18.
During removal of the vault 18 from the housing 20, like during the insertion thereof, the respective ones of the guide rails 40 and 140 are in slidable contact with each other so as to facilitate the removal of the vault. During such removal or disconnection, the pin 48 is disengaged from the mating member (not shown) on the housing 20, whereupon the portion 38 is automatically closed, thereby securing the coins and/or tokens stored inside. Such closing of the portion 38 may be accomplished by utilizing springs (not shown) coupled between the portion 38 and an inside portion of the lid 28. That is, upon inserting the vault 18 into the housing 20, the pin 48 engages its mating member located on the housing 20 causing the portion 38 to open and the spring to stretch which, in turn, exerts a force on the portion 38 which is resisted by the pin pressing against its mating member. However, when the vault is removed from the housing 20, the pin 48 no longer engages its mating member and, as a result, the spring returns to its normal unstretched position, thereby closing and locking the portion 38.
After the vault 18 is removed from housing 20, the lid 28 may be opened by an authorized person using a key inserted into a key slot (not shown) located in the vault so as to provide access to the coins and/or tokens contained inside the vault 18. After the lid 28 is closed, a locking mechanism (not shown) is activated. Typically, before the vault is inserted into the vault housing 20, the lid 28 is closed and locked using the locking mechanism.
Each connector 24 on each vault is constructed such that when mated with the mating connector 124, a unique signal, which represents the serial number assigned to the respective vault, may be provided to the vault housing 20. More specifically, contacts 26 (FIG. 2) in the connector 24 may be uniquely connected together by using, for example, jumper wires between predetermined contacts so as to result in a unique connection arrangement between contacts. Alternatively, selective one(s) of the contacts 26 in the connector 24 may be removed so as to produce a unique pattern of removed or remaining contacts. In either situation, after connectors 24 and 124 are mated together, the housing 20 supplies a signal having a known value from connector 124 through connector 24 and back to connector 124. Due to the unique contact arrangement in the connector 24, the signal received back at the vault housing is unique to the respective vault.
As previously mentioned, the vault housing 20 may produce information relating to the received coins and/or tokens. Such information may include the number of each type of coins and tokens and the total dollar amount of all received coins and tokens. The housing 20 may incorporate such produced information with the vault serial number information obtained from the connector 24 and supply such incorporated information by way of radio waves, data lines, telephone lines or similar such transmission paths to a central computer (not shown). Thus, such information from each housing 20 of each of a plurality of toll booths is formed and supplied to the central computer, whereupon the received information is processed and stored in a predetermined manner.
Thus, upon properly inserting the vault 18 into the vault housing 20, the portion 38 on the lid 28 rotatably opens and the connector 24 provides an indication of the vault serial number to the vault housing. Thereafter, when a motorist deposits coins and/or tokens into the basket 16, these coins and/or tokens are determined to be genuine or counterfeit, counted, and supplied to the vault 18. In addition, information relating to how much money and the type of money which was deposited into each vault is maintained and supplied to the central computer. Such information may be printed out by a printer (not shown), or similar means, so as to provide a record of this information.
In order to provide traceability information regarding the handling of each vault, log sheets are utilized. For example, a person responsible for the insertion or removal of the vault 18 into or from the vault housing 20, respectively, typically records the serial number of the vault (which is usually written or stamped onto the vault) onto a log sheet along with other relevant information, such as, the date and time, an identification number of the toll booth, the person's name who is handling the vault and so forth. After removal of the vault from the toll booth, the vault is typically stacked along with numerous other vaults and thereafter transported to a facility, such as a bank, whereupon the log sheets are again filled-in as to the serial number of the vaults received and other relevant information.
As is to be appreciated, during the stacking of the vaults and the transportation thereof, some or all of the contacts 26 contained within the connector 24 may be damaged or broken. Further, even with the use of the guide holes 22 (FIG. 2) and the guide pins 122 (FIG. 3), some or all of the contacts 26 may be damaged or broken during the insertion or extraction of the vault 18 into or from the housing 20, respectively. In any of these situations, if a vault with a damaged or broken connector is thereafter installed into a vault housing, the vault serial number transferred thereto may be erroneous.
Further, the person filling in the log sheets may inadvertently write in the wrong serial number. In such case, accurate and reliable traceability information is not obtained.
Furthermore, although information regarding the coins and/or tokens deposited in a respective vault may be generated by the vault housing 20 and printed out as previously described, such information is not normally transported with the respective vault. In fact, such information may be printed only after a relatively long period of time has elapsed since the vault has been removed, and such printed information is normally forwarded to a central office. Thus, it is often difficult, if not impossible, for someone, such as a bank official, who may currently have possession of a vault to obtain the information generated by the respective vault housing pertaining to the monies inside the vault. As a result, methods, such as weighing the vault, are often employed to obtain an indication of the total monies contained therein. However, as is to be appreciated, the weight of the vault may not provide an accurate and reliable indication of the monies contained therein. Such weight is subject to numerous factors, such as how many of each type of coins or tokens or counterfeit items or other material is contained therein.
Therefore, the prior art has failed to provide a vault for storing coins and/or tokens for use with a coin and/or token collecting apparatus, such as a toll booth, having means for providing information, such as a vault serial number, to a vault housing within the toll booth upon insertion therein which is unlikely to be damaged during insertion, extraction, stacking and transporting of the vault, means for ensuring that the correct vault serial number is provided each time the vault is handled so as to provide more reliable traceability information, and means for receiving and storing information produced by the vault housing 20 which may be readily supplied therefrom.